C Fly Foiler

[Doug Lord]

This boat has been around awhile but this story is from Scuttlebutt Europe today:
found this: www.C-fly.co.uk
Hydro Foil Catamaran Sea Trials at Weymouth

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) was the chosen venue for an intensive two week sea trials for the innovative new hydro-foil sailing catamaran, known as C-FLY. This is a 26ft catamaran created out of fifteen years of development by a team of aerospace engineers.

Chris Edwards, one of the C-FLY design team and who is leading the way in a new dimension of high speed sailing, explained his reasoning for selecting the venue which is hosting the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Picture: P. Wyeth-click on image-

'C-FLY can reach up to 40 knots in the right conditions and therefore we require a very large expanse of water to conduct our trials. We recognised the WPNSA as having one of the most extensive and sheltered harbours in the UK that is available for sailing. This gave us confidence that we could complete the trials in a controlled environment.'

'Launching from the Academy gave our team direct access to the test area using the extensive slip ways. We could also head out on the water at any time of day due to the slipways being accessible at all states of tide and wind, which ultimately gave us excellent flexibility for our testing.'

After crossing Portland Harbour at speeds above 25 to 30 knots, the trials were continued outside the harbour in Weymouth Bay. This provided conditions for open sea trials in the English Channel, a real test for any craft. Encountering waves of 1.5 metres, C-FLY demonstrated her exceptional sea-keeping and ability to continue hydro-foiling safely at speed, a clear aim of this project that seeks to solve the difficulties of sailing at very high speeds both safely and in comfort.

For your chance to view the sea trials of the C-FLY in Portland Harbour see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHhWQ...ature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbu4m...eature=related

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From their site:

C-FLY is a unique sailing craft, with innovative wave piercing hydrofoils that deliver incredible speed and stability in all sea-states. It is the ultimate ocean off-roader, a performance racer that literally flies on water.

"Our vision is for C-FLY to break world sailing records and lead the way for the next generation of performance multi-hulls through the application of unique hydrofoil technology, engineering and design."
A 7.6m prototype - C-FLY Coastal - has already been designed, built and extensively trialled, validating this revolutionary concept.

C-FLY is poised to lead the way in ocean hydrofoiling, breaking records in the world of high performance sailing. The l’Hydroptère project has demonstrated that sailing hydrofoils have the potential to re-write the history books and has paved the way for a truly unique challenge. The Team is now seeking a partner to sponsor the transition from C-FLY Coastal to the C-FLY Ocean record breaker.

[Doug Lord]

C fly foiler video in rough water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zTUonNv_xk

Another C-Fly video from the "Foilers!" site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=lEqYTrzaHsc
Foilers! http://foils.wordpress.com/